To Contentedly Heal
by kate-7h
Summary: 'The feeling of the rushed breath pulling and pushing in and out of his lungs was amazing. A little painful, but in a good way. He could feel. And that was all that mattered to him in these moments. He was weak, and fragile, and so much more human than he'd felt in so long.' Oneshot set a couple months after returning to Resembool.


**A/N**: So I watched both shows in about a week... yeah. So here's a very pleasant Alphonse story with hints at EdxWinry cause Al is the biggest shipper.

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Alphonse Elric lounged in a wooden chair beside the upstairs window of the Rockbell home. His home. He and his brother had no other place than where they were right there. And that was okay. The countryside extended farther and wider than his view through the glass. The midmorning sun streamed into the room, warming the places on his skin where the light touched. It was elating.

If only he weren't so out of breath from lugging the probably lighter-than-it-felt chair across the room. Even so, the feeling of the rushed breath pulling and pushing in and out of his lungs was amazing. A little painful, but in a good way. He could feel. And that was all that mattered to him in these moments. He was weak, and fragile, and so much more human than he'd felt in so long. It didn't matter his human body was small and atrophic.

It was strange though, to live in a perpetually strong, iron body for years; then swap it for flesh and bones. A lot of people would say he downgraded, but that wasn't how Alphonse saw it. In that suit of armor he was unable to experience life. It was more of a half life. It was missing the smallest, most important things: The coolness of grass under foot, the smell and taste of Winry's apple pie, or the warmth of his brother's embrace. Even the feel of stretching his own face into a smile was something that metal helmet could never do.

It did come with helpful perks though. Never needing to worry about rest or nourishment, Al probably could've ran from Dublith to the Briggs Mountains if he'd wanted to. That armor had saved a lot of lives too. It was excellent protection from bullets, or the abnormal claws of an homunculus. He'd been a remarkable, animate shield.

Despite that, Al would never go back to it. Sitting in his weak body, feeling the sun against his face, he couldn't voluntarily trade that away. He wouldn't.

Al rubbed a hand over his head. The bristles of his short hair prickled against his soft skin. Back in the hospital he'd considered keeping his hair long, wearing it like his brother did. In the end he decided against it. That hair, which had drooped into his eyes and down his back, represented the length of time this body had spent on the other side of the gate. All that time, he'd been completely disconnected from himself. He'd needed that kind of control, to be able to cut his hair. To be able to control what he did to his body. Being able to make decisions for his physical being for the first time in years.

It had felt good.

Den's barking drew Alphonse's attention back out the window. He watched as Edward ran across the grass, Den jumping up on him and nearly knocking him down to the ground. Ed's curses and laughter were audible through the window pane. Al smiled and sighed. He was trying to be patient and let himself heal, but he was yearning to go run and play with his brother. He felt like he was a little kid again, stuck at home and too sick to go out, watching Ed and Winry play without him.

Well, he wasn't sick nor was he confined to bed. Literally nothing was stopping him from going out except himself. Determination filled him up as he clasped the cane beside his chair and wobbly stood. _Shouldn't have sat there so long_, Al cursed as his joints popped and his muscles cramped.

Embracing the human discomfort, Alphonse made his way towards the stairs.

"Hey Al," Winry's voice came from behind him down the hall.

"Morning Winry," Al turned to look at her. Winry was decked out in her usual beige coveralls, a sage bandana wrapped around her head, and grease-stained gloves covering her hands. "How are you?"

Winry's face seemed to light up from her sleepy expression as he smiled. It was really nice to see, "I'm fine. Do you need help going down the stairs?"

"Nah, I got it," Al said almost too quickly. He didn't want to shut her down or anything, but since he'd come to Resembool a couple months ago each of them had been doing that. Acting like he couldn't do even the simplest things. Well, he probably did need the help more than he'd like. He was aware of that, but being aware of it didn't erase his pride.

"Okay," Winry said with a shrug, though her face remained slightly uneasy as she surveyed the stairs beside him.

It was understandable, really. He'd tried this before last week and had ended up tumbling halfway down the stairs. The wooden steps had left brilliant purple marks on his still translucently pale skin. Everyone had made a big deal about it even though he'd really been completely fine. Ed insisted on carrying him up and down the stairs after that. If Edward, Winry, or Granny had been anyone else Al would've been more embarrassed. But they were family. It was fine.

"Hey, have you seen Ed?" Winry asked, that tone of annoyance was present in her voice.

Al shrugged, "Yeah, he was playing with Den out in the front a little while ago."

Winry huffed, "That little jerk. I told him to fix that bottom step yesterday. And I know he didn't do it."

Before he could say anything, Winry dashed down the steps. He'd expected her to charge out the front door and throw something at Ed's head. But she lingered at the bottom of the stairs, her hands wrapped around the handrail as she looked up at him.

"Watch out for this step here. The wood's splintered up. I've already tripped on it twice."

"Right," Alphonse said cheerfully, grasping hard onto the handrail. He did not want to fall on his face again. As excited as Al was about feeling every little sensation, he wasn't too keen on feeling the stairs break his nose.

Slowly but surely, he made his way down the stairs. In all honesty, up was way harder than down. But going down he had gravity trying to pull him off balance. So slow was really his best bet. At the bottom step, he sidestepped and placed his feet on the ground floor. Triumphant, he grinned at Winry. Little victories like that made him feel all the more stronger than he was.

Winry's face lit up again, her hands clapped together like applause. Or transmutation. Either or.

Just as Alphonse started making his way towards the door, it burst open and flooded the room with full sunlight. His eyes took a few seconds before adjusting to the light.

"Al! Hey," Edward said as Al blinked rapidly.

"Brother, I was just coming outside," Al leaned both hands on his cane, letting his face beam.

Ed nodded, glancing at Winry then the stairs behind them.

"Yeah, and he didn't trip on that bottom step I told you to fix yesterday," Winry snipped, her hands on her hips.

"Geez Winry, you told me to do a million things yesterday. How am I supposed to remember all of them?" Ed rolled his eyes.

"You could try writing them down like a normal person."

"Why don't you write them down, since they're your chores anyway!"

Al drowned them out as he was pretty used to doing. These two fought a lot, for just the sake of fighting. It was pretty easy to tell Winry would win this time as she usually did, and Ed would be fixing the step within the next half hour. All Alphonse could really hope was that he was able to stand at his brother's wedding without a cane. And he was convinced that he would be able to.

A loud grumble erupted from Alphonse's stomach, drawing both Ed and Winry's attention back to him.

"Oh you haven't eaten, have you, Al?" Winry said, the passionate flush in her face fading.

"Oops," Al grinned. "I guess I forgot."

Ed and Winry both laughed, as if they hadn't been arguing moments before. Ed came over and clapped Al's shoulder more gently than he usually did, "Can't be forgetting that, Al. Build up your strength, and we'll be sparing in no time."

"I doubt that'll be anytime soon."

Edward squeezed a little with a smile, "You'll get there, brother."

Alphonse smiled again, then lifted his own hand to Ed's shoulder. Mirroring him. Al could feel Ed's flesh beneath his fingers, that arm which had been absent as long as Al's body had. Ignoring the fact that Edward's leg whirred and creaked with gears, they were whole at last.

And that was definitely something to smile about.

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**A/N**: Okay so Alphonse Elric is one of the sweetest sweethearts to ever sweet. Seriously, isn't he just darling? This was so pleasant to write, I was smiling the whole time. Reviews appreciated, like a lot!


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